Abayomi Animashaun is a Nigerian émigré, who came to the United States in the mid 1990s.He holds an MFA from the International Writing Program at the University of Nevada, LasVegas and a PhD from the University of Kansas.

His poems have appeared in several print and online journals, including Diode, The CortlandReview, Versedaily, African American Review, Passages North, Ruminate Magazine, and TheAdirondack Review. His poems have also been included in Begin Again: 150 Kansas Poemsand We Have Crossed Many Rivers: New Poetry from Africa.

Arecipient of the Hudson Prize and a grant from the International Center for Writing andTranslation, Abayo is the author of two poetry collections, Sailing for Ithaca and The Givingof Pears, and editor of two anthologies, Walking the Tightrope: Poetry and Prose by LGBTQ Writers from Africa and Others Will Enter the Gates: Immigrant Poets on Poetry, Influences, and Writing in America.

He teaches writing and literature at the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh and lives in Green Bay, Wisconsin with his wife and two children.